Rachel Pegg reviewed "Mitchell & Mounfield - Apart at Last", which was performed at the Komedia on September 15.
While very happy to receive a favourable review of my show, "I am a Charles Kennedy", I was shocked to read the hatchet job Rachel did on my colleague Brian Mitchell for his show, "Billion Dollar Brian".
It was an uneven show but much of it went down well, with rounds of applause and consistent laughter.
For Rachel to suggest Brian and his material were dreadful and that the audience left or lost interest is simply not true.
Some people did leave but it was late (10.30-11pm) and many have to work or relieve babysitters on a week night. Many years running nights around Brighton have taught me that, irrespective of how the night goes.
The hundred or more who remained proceeded to enjoy the show. For example, the "Robot Matey" section so derided by Ms Pegg gained many big laughs.
While I understand a reviewer has the right not to enjoy a show, to confess at this point that she "stopped listening" is both unfair and downright bad practice.
To go on to say "anyone in the room could have entertained us better" verges on the nasty. It's easy to sit on the sidelines and say that but I would like to see her try.
I would suggest Rachel look through the back issues of her own paper and read the many glorious reviews Brian's work has gained over the years.
The Ministry Of Biscuits, The Comedy Dairy, The Cheeky Guide Shows And Books, The Comedy Dairy Specials, Take This And Shove It and The Ornate Johnsons shows to name a few.
If she did this, and then considered Brian's CV, which includes writing and performing for national TV, radio and feature film and helping to write and direct Perrier Award Nominee Joanna Neary in all her shows, perhaps she might reconsider the harsh and unreasonably dismissive tone and content of her review.
Brian has, after all, been the driving force behind some superb entertainment in Brighton over the past 14 years.
I think he deserves a bit more respect than this.
-D Mounfield, Brighton
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